


Therapy dog Bull

by rrina_1



Category: Naruto
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, BAMF Umino Iruka, But also not, Child Soldiers, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Getting Together, Harassment, Hatake Kakashi Has PTSD, I did this instead of learning, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Military, Multi, Mutual Pining, No beta we die like Neji, Panic Attacks, Paranoia, Past Domestic Violence, Polyamory, Sai is a part of Team 7, Slow Burn, Sorry Not Sorry, Stalking, Uchiha Police Force - Freeform, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Yamato/Tenzo has PTSD, english is not my first language, he has to recover first though, it's complicated - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:28:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27558361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rrina_1/pseuds/rrina_1
Summary: It was over. Iruka finally broke up with Mizuki.Now, recovering from years of abuse and manipulation, Iruka faced a number of struggles, including, but not limited to Mizuki stalking and terrorizing him.He was alone, lonely even, but then Anko jumped right into his life and dragged two strangers with her.First, it seemed like a bad idea, but maybe Iruka had more impact on Kakashi and Tenzo then previously thought?
Relationships: Dai-nana-han | Team 7 & Umino Iruka, Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka/Yamato | Tenzou, Mitarashi Anko & Umino Iruka, Undecided
Comments: 6
Kudos: 47





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Blue On Black](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22417273) by [ASchwartz33](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ASchwartz33/pseuds/ASchwartz33). 



> This is a rewrite of ASchwartz33's story "Blue On Black". We already got in touch with each other and she approved of this. Definitely check her story out!
> 
> Also, I am currently in the middle of my exam-phase, so please forgive me for uploading slowly and irregularly. I will try my best though.
> 
> This is my first story, so I would love suggestions and critics :D  
> I hope you enjoy!

Kakashi entered _Shinobi_ , their usual Friday-night-after-work bar and waited for Tenzo to step behind him before making his way to their favorite table in the corner the farthest away from the door.

With their backs to the wall and Tenzo covering Kakashi’s blind spot on the left, they settled into the worn cushions and nodded to the bartender, who already carried their usual request.

“Two beers for my two favorite shitfaced regulars”, the bartender cheered as she placed both glasses on the table, uncaring for the spilled foam. She nudged Tenzo rather roughly in the side and settled into their personal space like she was invited to do so.

Kakashi didn’t even raised an eyebrow at her behavior, since this happened almost every time she had the Friday night shift, which…was actually every Friday.

“Good evening Anko”, Tenzo chose to respond and reached for his beverage. Kakashi followed him suit, but only held it in his hands and glared at Anko, who waggled her eyebrows.

She leaned back and threw an arm behind Tenzo on the rest (?). “You gotta take off the mask to drink cap.” Kakashi’s almost murderous glare didn’t bother her. A pause where absolutely nothing happened, before Anko spoke again. “Okay, okay, alright you fucking child. Want to hear the latest shit about Asuma and Kurenai?”

“No.”

The purple haired lady laughed loudly. “Okay, so, last time Asuma came here, which was like an eternity ago, that little bastard, he looked like he smoked about five packs of his disgusting cigars and- “, Kakashi interrupted her wild gesturing with an “shouldn’t you be at the counter?” and nodded to the three new persons who entered the bar.

Anko sprang up, nearly hitting Tenzo and threw a cheerful “I’m not finished here you two” over her shoulder before ~~harassing~~ _interacting_ with her new customers.

Both sat in comfortable silence, sipping at their beers and checking the corners, door and windows of the bar.

Since drinking on Friday after work was a common phenomenon in the popularity of Fire Country, _Shinobi_ was rather crowded, even though the bar was knowingly a hotspot for soldiers and veterans.

“Iruka! Genma!”, a man several seats down called out and waved as two new customers entered the bar.

Both perked up at the call and made their way to the table their friend sat at, together with two more people. Both Kakashi and Tenzo silently checked out the two men.

The right one wearing a beanie smiled brightly and waved enthusiastically back. Kakashi mustered him for a moment, then dismissed him since he just wasn’t attractive. Also, the fact that he didn’t take off his beanie even though they were inside the bar was off-putting and rude. Even for Kakashi I-wear-a-mask-everywhere-Hatake.

The other one though. Kakashi licked his lips as his eyes roamed over a much more fit body, not bordering on the buff-ness like Tenzo, but rather being lean like Kakashi, with a nice set of broad shoulders and waist.

His smooth, sun-kissed skin was highlighted by his brown hair pulled up into a ponytail and Kakashi guessed that he had brown eyes to match it all. Kakashi shared a look with Tenzo, seeing his friend eyeing the (very) small smile on the newcomer’s face.

To be honest, even from the distance, the attractive man looked a bit… squeamish. Nervous. Not wanting to be there, or maybe not wanting to spend time with that group.

Both also noticed how he rubbed his wrists that were covered in blue and yellow bruises. How he dragged his sleeves further down before the group could see them. How he fumbled with his turtleneck collar like he checked every five seconds if it was on the right place rather than being unused to fabric on his throat.

Kakashi caught the attention of his friend and waggled with his eyebrows while nodding in the direction of Iruka. Tenzo snorted and nudged Kakashi with his shoulder before returning to his drink.

Their silence continued. Where they lacked chatter, the group filled it up.

“No, Genma, I did not intend to come late, nor is Mizuki at fault. I just lost the time while cleaning up”, Iruka protested, fumbling with his collar again. He didn’t look to his friends directly, instead mustering the table and the content of his only glass of this evening.

Genma huffed. Loudly. “You aren’t even looking in my eyes while lying Iruka! You can’t keep letting him _control_ you like this.”

“I am not!” Iruka lifted his gaze and glared at his friend, his shoulders hutched up and his fingers digging in his thighs. He touched a nasty bruise and it hurt, a lot, but he suppressed the wince quite _practiced_.

Natsu reached over to lay her hand on Iruka’s shoulder, but Iruka flinched barely noticeable and fixated on her hand, so Natsu tugged a strand of her dark green hair behind the ear and pretended that this was her intention all along.

Nervously, Iruka gazed around, but only Natsu looked at him with _that look_. Apparently he had suppressed the flinch well enough, to his relief.

“We’re only worried”, Natsu said. Iruka wanted her to stop. Stop looking at him like this. Stop using that voice on him. _Stop stop stop stop._

Iruka bit the inside of his cheek to prevent further zoning out. “There’s no need to be”, he breathed out, relieved that his voice didn’t shake.

“Iruka!”, Genma punched the table, and this time he could stop jumping up because of that. For a split second, Mizuki’s face replaced Genma’s and a chill ran down his spine. _No no no this is not-_

Immediately Genma retracted his arms to his sides and looked at him with _that look_ too. Not only him, Kotetsu and Izumo too. Nausea rose in him and everything inside him screamed at him to just _run_.

“That’s…Iruka please, Mizuki is clearly not- “, Izumo began, softly, like Iruka could shatter any moment, and Iruka _hated_ it.

“Not what? You? Kotetsu? Or even Genma? Not the perfect boyfriend? I get it! But this is my relationship, not yours. Stop trying to _control_ it!”

Before anyone could say something, Iruka stood up, the half-empty glass of the cheapest fruity cocktail there was forgotten. “I’m going now. Sorry. See you…later.” Iruka would deny it when someone asked, but he fled from his friends. First from his boyfriend, from his life and now from the one that only wanted to help him. _Why was he like this? Why was he so pathetic that he even pushed away his friends? Why can’t he be a good friend? A good boyfriend? Why why why-_

Kakashi and Tenzo shared a worried look. The “you don’t know him or the circumstances or even the truth” in the back of their minds nagged both, but there happened too much in their past and they were trained far too well to ignore the signs.

The feeling of not being able to do something was horrible. Even if it referred to a complete stranger, attractiveness on the side.

Kakashi looked around, but it seemed that nobody else noticed what happened there. Iruka and his _friends_ were relatively silent, he gave him that, and the gestures only seemed wildly when you actively looked at them, he guessed.

Still, even Anko wasn’t alarmed. Something impossible if she knew what the conservation just _heavily_ implied.

\--

Tenzo and Kakashi were back at _Shinobi_ the next Friday, since-well it was routine. Nothing else.

Really.

Their beers were already in front of them and Anko finally got to tell them the latest rumor that Kurenai and Asuma were together-which, duh, was more of a matter of time really.

Tenzo also rubbed his swollen jaw and held an ice pack to his shoulder.

“I still can’t believe you got hit from a _child_ ”, Kakashi smirked and mustered his jaw. “That looks _nasty_ , Tenzo. A 90-pounds little brat. Hah.”

He rolled his eyes. “That was a lucky shot, _senpai_. Encouraging them to work harder, that’s all.” Grimacing, he grabbed his beer and took a _large_ gulp. “Want me to retell the story with the cat? I am sure Anko would love to hear that one.”

Kakashi deadpanned and grabbed his beer but remained silent. Tenzo chuckled, shook his head and settled further into the cushion, suppressing a grimace because of the flaring up pain in his shoulder.

Silence stretched between them, never uncomfortable, but neither could deny that their usual corner-check involved looking out for a certain brunette this time.

And Iruka didn’t take that long to appear, this time alone and no group waiting for him.

With a frown, Kakashi mustered him. Well, mostly his clothes. His _lack_ of winter clothes, even though it literary froze outside.

But Kakashi’s gaze quickly turned to the new black eye the brunette spotted. It looked painful and suspiciously not like a clumsy accident.

Iruka rubbed his hands as he walked to the counter, not too far from their table, and mumbled his order of the cheapest punch the bar had to offer as seasonal special without looking up to the bartender. But Anko didn’t really care for that since even she didn’t stop staring into her phone as he fixed his drink.

He wore the blue turtleneck sweater again (or still?) and once he stopped warming up his stiff fingers, he fumbled with his collar again, but stopped immediately when Anko slide his drink over the counter.

This time, her eyes locked up on the still existent, even though barely noticeable bruises on his neck, and his bruised eye and she quickly shared a look with her “favorite shitfaced regulars.”

They nodded slightly, silently conveying that they noticed it too. She nodded to the calendar and only because they knew each other long enough they understood what she said. _Last time too?_ Again, Kakashi and Tenzo agreed which caused her to grit her teeth.

As Iruka’s attention snapped to her facial expression changed in a matter of milliseconds. Like someone operated a switch on her, her snarl turned into cheerful laughter and she quickly started to talk with him.

“Iruka! Nice to see you again, my lovely little friend”, she tugged him into an awkward side hug, the counter still between them, and pushed his face rather shameless into her breasts.

Iruka squeaked an utter adorable sound and tried to wiggle his way out of her headlock, but Anko wouldn’t be Anko if she let him that easily off the hook.

Tenzo and Kakashi watched their familiarly with each other with raised eyebrows and Tenzo even smiled a little, but neither commented on it.

“Anko for the love of-let me go! I missed you too! I would have visited this bar sooner if I knew you worked here! I swear!”

After Anko released him from her death-grip they started talking with each other, even resulting into Iruka grinning and laughing at one of Anko’s horrible black humored jokes.

Warmness spread through Kakashi as he watched the beautiful men laughing and as soon as he noticed that, guilt immediately took over. He glanced to Tenzo, maybe as an attempt to distract from Iruka’s really cute face and was surprised to see Tenzo in a state Kakashi imagined he had been a moment ago.

Completely enthralled with how adorably Iruka’s nose scrunched up when he grinned or how his smile was a bit uneven or how he ran a finger over his scar without even noticing and then being visible surprised when Anko points it out for him.

_Oh fuck_.

It even went so far that Anko secretly refilled his cup when he wasn’t looking and cracked another horrible joke when his expression fell a little as he touched his throat.

But soon Anko had to cater other customers and Kakashi almost suggested inviting him over. Almost. He didn’t know how without making it awkward, and still he felt a bit guilty about enjoying Iruka’s happiness.

Also, after about seven minutes of sitting alone, his dark green haired friend entered the bar with the other two that weren’t _Genma_ and spotted Iruka after nearly two seconds.

To Kakashi’s surprise (annoyance actually) even Genma entered the bar ten minutes after the other three and joined them.

It went okay, for exactly…thirteen minutes.

Their small talk turned into a conversation about Iruka’s relationship again. This time nobody yelled, or raised a hand or even gestured wildly and Iruka almost looked…annoyed.

They ran in circles, Kakashi thought as he watched the group pestering Iruka about how Mizuki wasn’t the right choice of partner. That he clearly wasn’t who he pretended to be. And how they didn’t buy the excuse of being clumsy as reason for his black eye.

Iruka weakly defended his boyfriend, or well, tried to, but every time he hit a wall with his excuses. So, he mostly kept shut and mustered his cheap drink or the table. This time his friends payed for a few rounds so Iruka ended up with more than one glass of alcohol.

Everyone slowly but surely got frustrated, the alcohol rose too, even though Anko ignored them as long as she could without making it obvious, and the arguments got meaner with each round.

“Why don’t you see it? He is bad news! Iruka, you have to break up with him”, Genma said, more than tipsy and quickly drowned his drink.

Iruka grimaced. “You-you try to control my controlling relationship? Damn it Genma, this is not a conversation that should be held drunk!”

“But you never open up else! We practically have to fill you up every time we want to talk with you”, Kotetsu replied, also drunk. Izumo, who kept silent the entire conversation, elbowed his boyfriend hard and glanced at him angrily.

For a moment, the entire table was silent. “I’m sorry”, Iruka muttered as he hugged himself, guilt written all over his face.

“Iruka”, Natsu sighed and leaned a bit forward. “You are right, we shouldn’t be drunk for that. We will…go. I think the two had enough to drink for this evening. Sorry that this evening escalated again.” She ran a hand through her hair. “Please, this is not your fault in any way, but we all should cool down first. See you on Wednesday?”

The brunette grew stiff for a moment, then nodded and swallowed loudly. “Yeah uh- “, he ran a finger over his scar but didn’t lift his gaze. “-see you on Wednesday I guess.”

After a bit of shuffling, and putting their share of money on the table, the four left and Iruka continued sitting at the counter, face twisted in a grimace.

Kakashi felt bad but with a heavy breath, he shut down that feeling and pushed the brunette out of his mind. Iruka was a stranger, his situation didn’t involve Kakashi, or Tenzo, nor did he ever spoke to them. _He shouldn’t care. He shouldn’t-_

A bit later, Anko returned to sit with Iruka and cheered him up but didn’t bring him to laugh like before. Iruka apologized for being a _mood-killer_ with such a sincerity and sadness it made Anko grit her teeth and hug him with one of her weird one-armed hugs that worked miracles.

But Anko was called away, her little _minions_ , as she called her coworkers affectionally, told her something about a brawl starting at the back and property damage and the bartender rolled her eyes, patted Iruka on the head and followed her minions.

Before he could mope again, his phone rang and Iruka debated for a moment if he should go outside where it _snowed_ or should just stay inside and hope for the best.

Deciding on option two, he took out his phone and froze up as he read the name on the display. _Mizuki_. That wasn’t good. Not at all. _No, no-_

His fear overcame his reasoning and he accepted the call with trembling fingers.

“Iruka.”

“Stop bothering me Mizuki”, he tried to place every ounce of anger he had in his voice, but it came out shaky and anxious. “We-It’s over. I broke up with you.” There was no anger, no, only his fear of being found, of-

“Ha! You mean like all the other times? Don’t be so stupid. Get your ungrateful ass back here before I get _really_ angry”, Mizuki growled into the line.

“N-No.”

“What do you mean with “no” you little bitch. Wait until I find you.”, with that, Mizuki ended the call and triggered Iruka’s biggest fear. _He needs to go before-_

Abruptly he stood up, knocking over his barstool and nearly falling over it. He caught himself on the counter with a painful grunt and shook his head. _Damn alcohol_ , he thought, _he was more drunk than he previously thought._

He needed to go. He needed to leave the bar _. He needed to reach that damn door-_

“Iruka? HEY! Get it together would you?”, suddenly, Anko appeared in front of him and grabbed his shoulders.

Startled, he nearly slapped his friend, but Anko caught his hand before it could do any harm. With wide eyes Iruka flinched and rose his hands to block his face.

“Oh god, I-I’m sorry, please, I didn’t want to-please don’t- “, he brabbled with trembling voice and his fidgeting intensified, now trying to escape Anko’s hold.

Anko grimaced, unsure what she should do. Holding him still would do more harm than good, he didn’t listen and was on his way to spiral into a panic attack. That wasn’t good. A part of her wanted to slap him to clarity, a way that worked with everyone before, but she wasn’t that dumb.

She didn’t get panic attacks and she surely wasn’t a damn shrink! Damnit!

Then she saw Kakashi and Tenzo, who both watched the scenario with tense shoulders and stone-cold expressions. She wasn’t sure if they had experience with these damn attacks and she knew that they were a bunch of emotionally stunned idiots but she would take it.

So, which the scariest expression she could come up with, she beckoned them to get their asses here immediately and was kind of relieved when they followed suit.

“Iruka, Iruka, come on man, it’s me, Anko. Come on, look at me”, she tried again and rubbed his shoulders in a reassuring way. “It’s okay, you’re in Shinobi, you know, the bar and, uh, it’s evening? Dark? Snowy? God damnit what am I even supposed to say?”

He wanted to! He wanted to stop this, wanted to escape, wanted to look at Anko, _wanted wanted wanted-_

“Stop cursing”, Kakashi ordered and stepped beside her. _Why would she even ask him, from all possible better equipped people?_

“Hello Iruka”, he said, as calm as possible and pushed himself in the brunette’s field of view, dispersing Anko’s hold. “Hey, my name is Kakashi, can you look up to me?”

Iruka frowned. _What Kakashi-he didn’t know anyone named like this, what is happening-_

So, he looked up like the stranger said, still hysterical and ready to run away and paused as soon as he met the other man’s gaze.

_Oh wow._

It was like everything disappeared for a second. Only he and these beautiful, mismatched eyes framed by unruly strands of grey hair were in his mind. No Mizuki, no panic, no need to flee.

After the second was over, the weight returned on his chest, pressed the air out of his lungs and he quickly averted his eyes. _This was not good-oh god-_

“You need to breath”, the man sniped in before his thoughts could escalate into more. Iruka nodded, wanting nothing more than that, but it was so _difficult_.

It took a few more moments before Iruka calmed down enough to breath on a normal frequency, his heartbeat revert to something that didn’t feel like it a jackhammer breaking his breastbone and his gaze actually _seeing_ something.

Like the two, very attractive men that mustered him carefully, nearly analytical. Huh, he didn’t even notice the other one standing there. _He had to work on his awareness, oh god that can’t happening ever again._

And a fidgeting Anko- _oh god, Anko-_ “I am so sorry!”, he squeaked, whipping his head to his friend. “I didn’t mean to-I didn’t want to hurt you! I swear! Oh god, I- “

“Oi, Iruka, come on man”, she stepped in his personal space and tugged him into her weird side hug. “Look, no need to apologize. It’s fine! What even happened?”

Iruka froze. What was he supposed to say? _My ex-boyfriend continues to terrorize me via phone and is most likely already on finding me to drag me back into our abusive relationship and he will definitely punish me for running away and alarming other people of our problems-_

“WHAT.”

Oh fuck he said that out loud, didn’t he?

“Yes, you did”, the other, still nameless man chimed in, then grimaced at his own words. That was rather...unsensitive.

Anko squeezed his shoulder. “Okay, how about you sit with these two fuck-faces while I give my little minions an update on _security._ Great? Great.” Then she jumped up and headed to the “Employees only” door, which she _carefully_ kicked open.

Tenzo came forward as soon as doubt flickered over Iruka’s face. “I’m Tenzo”, he said, then pointed to Kakashi. “This is my boyfriend Kakashi and we would love to have a drink with you.”

Iruka opened his mouth to protest, but then he saw the swollen jaw that slowly spotted a fist-shaped bruise. His gaze caught Tenzo’s eyes, then moved to Kakashi and came back to Tenzo.

“Ah, I’m a karate instructor and one of my kids got a _lucky shot”_ , he explained quickly and chuckled slightly and pointed a finger at his left shoulder. “Even got a kick high enough to hit up here.”

After a pregnant pause, Iruka chuckled stiffly and nodded. “Uh, I’m Iruka, but I guess you already caught on to that. Eh I-I would be happy to join you if it’s not a problem.”

\--

Iruka sat down with the two new men. And oh wow.

He didn’t stare at them, but quickly glanced over their sinful attractive bodies. Kakashi’s dark blue dress shirt was rolled up to the elbows and highlighted his wonderful biceps, the patch pockets doing nothing to hide how tight the shirt stretched over his pecs and the matching dark blue tie loosened up enough to give a glimpse to soft milky skin.

The buttons of Tenzo’s similar shirt seemed to barely hold the shirt together, every movement risking them to snap and his black slacks embracing thick, strong thighs.

Maybe he stared _a bit_ , he assessed with warm cheeks. Not obviously of course. As he looked up and saw the knowing smirk that donned Tenzo’s face, he suppressed an embarrassing squeak and blushed furiously.

_Oh wow, barely away from your boyfriend and already wanting to jump the bones of the next male specimen,_ a voice nagged him that suspiciously sounded like Mizuki. _Thirsty slut, you think they would find_ you _attractive? With bodies like these?_

Iruka silently gave ~~Mizu~~ \- his inner voice right. He couldn’t keep up at all.

(A teeny tiny part of his brain tried to make their outfits into uniforms, but he pushed that thought far, far away.)

Embarrassment aside, the three of them fell into a pleasant and easy conversation where mostly Kakashi and Tenzo tried to engage Iruka without pushing or stressing him.

It was…nice.

Until Iruka’s phone rang again. The world stopped and ran too fast at the same time. Only one person _called_ him. Only him. _Only Mizuki._

“Do you really want to answer his call?”, Kakashi asked calmly. His first instinct was to place a hand reassuringly on the man’s other arm, but he guessed that Iruka wouldn’t react greatly to it. So, he settled for a calm supportive aura.

He definitely didn’t want to answer. Really. His mind screamed at him to just ignore the call, to turn away the phone. His body stopped moving altogether, his breath hitching up. But a tiny part in him, suspiciously near his heart, wanted to hear Mizuki. Stupidly hoped for an apology, for _anything_ nice-

He shouldn’t accept. _Shouldn’t shouldn’t shouldn’t._

But living for years with Mizuki taught him that his refusal will have _consequences_. So, with trembling fingers and fear written all over his face, he tapped the green phone symbol.

“Mizuki, stop calling me”, even though he didn’t say it out loud, his soft voice gave away the silent _please._

“You don’t get to give me commands, Iruka. Now get the fuck out of the damn bar or I will personally drag you out.”

No. _No no no no no-he can’t-_

Iruka stopped breathing for a moment. “W-What…what bar?” With big eyes he stared at the door of the bar and he broke out a cold sweat.

“Don’t bullshit me Iruka, I know that you’re in _Shinobi_ and you’re getting outside NOW!”

Before he could reply, Mizuki already ended the call. His phone nearly fell out of his hands, so much he trembled. Iruka’s breathing hitched up, his heartrate unhealthy high and tears forming in his eyes.

And he couldn’t stop staring at the door.

“Iruka”, Tenzo mumbled next to him and ripped him out of the spiral of fear he nearly disappeared in.

“Come on, let’s get you out of here”, Kakashi said and put a healthy amount of money on the counter, more than enough for the three of them, including Iruka’s previous drinks, and put a glass over it.

They stood up, Tenzo and Kakashi standing so near to Iruka, the three were practically cuddling and Iruka didn’t mind. It was…nice.

But they weren’t fast enough. Mizuki already stormed into the bar, opening the door with so much force it banged on the wall and got the attention of the entire bar.

“Iruka!”, he yelled unnecessary loud and stopped in front of the three, his face red and twisted in anger. He raised his hand, a flick of satisfaction on his face as Iruka flinched, and made an attempt to grab his ex-boyfriend.

Both Kakashi and Tenzo held his arm in a death grip before he could even invade Iruka’s personal space. And what a grip.

He tried to break himself out of the grip, his pain visible, but no success.

“And who are you two dimpshits? Let me to my boyfriend and mind your own fucking business!”

“Who we are does concern you in only one way bastard”, Kakashi started confidently, squared his shoulders a bit more and stared down at Mizuki with a murderous glare. "If you don't back off from Iruka _right now_ we are the ones that will break every bone in your arms."

“He is your ex-boyfriend and he already said no. Back off”, Tenzo added, showing off his muscles and glaring equally dark and threatening.

They let go of his arms but took a step forward in a protective manner. Confidence, power and authority literally radiated from them and lulled Iruka into feeling safer ( _but still not save enough-_ ).

Mizuki glared at Iruka. “This will have _consequences_ ”, he said, scowling and stormed off. For the dramatics, he slammed the door shut again.

Iruka felt like the air was pulled out of his lungs. He couldn’t focus on anything else then the _consequences_. He knew what _consequences_ meant. _It was the fight all over again-_

Kakashi entered his field of view. Kakashi was _good-safe, not Mizuki_ \- “Iruka, come, we can go outside okay? Are you here with a car?”

His car. _His car-oh no no no fuck-_ “Oh god”, Iruka breathed out, turning to Kakashi. “The car!” And started tugging both men behind him as he ran out of the bar.

Kakashi and Tenzo shared a look, full of questions, took their jackets without interrupting their sprint and stopped behind a frozen Iruka who stood in front of an empty parking lot.  
A white VW golf just drove away and Tenzo nodded to the black travel bag on the ground.

“Iruka?”, Kakashi stepped forward and nudged him with his shoulder. “Hey, what is the problem?”

He still gazed after the long-gone car. “That was my car.”

“What?”, now Tenzo stepped next to him and mustered Iruka’s panicked expression.

The brunette cleared his throat and hugged himself. He didn’t know if the chill _only_ came from the temperatures. “My-the car, he gifted it to me, I didn’t know Mizuki has keys.”

Kakashi rose an eyebrow. “Okay, is it your car or his though? Also, we can bring you home if you want? And tomorrow, we bring you along to the department to report that.”

He wildly shook his head, tears again forming in his eyes, but he held them back with every ounce of control left in him. “I uh I never signed any contract, so officially it’s his. And, I, uhm- “, he avoided their eyes and blushed a bit. “I still have to find a place to stay, so I- I slept in my car.”

“That doesn’t seem safe”, Tenzo replied, his brows furrowed in worry. Iruka bit his lips and strictly gazed at the ground.

“Or comfortable”, Kakashi added, frowning.

“Yeah-uh-he…he also emptied our shared bank account so I…uh…”

Tenzo grimaced. Officially, they couldn’t report both the car or the account. But…not everything has to be dealt _officially._ He looked at Kakashi who nodded.

Kakashi nudged him again. “Hey, do you want to crash on our couch for tonight? It’s better than sleeping outside. You don’t have to do anything!”

Iruka grimaced. They were nice, kind, good looking guys and a warm apartment with a soft couch sounded much, much better than sleeping outside, but they were essentially strangers.

Apropos essentially strangers. “Where is Anko?”, Iruka asked more into the off than his company and squinted at the backdoor of the bar.

Like Anko would emerge out of nowhere.

And that’s exactly what Anko did. Tenzo and Kakashi flinched slightly and both right hands jerked to their sides before regaining their posture again, pretending that nothing happened.

“Here I am!” She throwed an arm over Iruka’s shoulder. He flinched slightly and hoped that she concluded it to her loud voice.

“So babyface”, she cheered, looking at her friend. “I am sorry that my little subjects didn’t hold off Mizuki, but at least they noticed some shady guys following you. Look over there, at the lantern. Do you recognize them?”

Iruka blinked and gazed at said lantern, where three guys stood, but it was too dark for him to distinguish any facial features.

“I can’t see a thing.”

Tenzo mustered them. “One has a silver ponytail, is rather short, wears glasses and purple clothing. A red-haired woman with a helmet and the big man has three tufts of orange hair, the middle one resembling a mohawk. The last two wear something resembling an uniform.”

The expression on Iruka’s face was telling enough.

Anko patted him on his head. “Have they been following you before too? Where are you staying?”, she asked cheerfully to capture his attention again.

Iruka took a deep breath. “They, uh, Mizuki’s friends, I thought I was paranoid but…”

“But?”, Kakashi raised an eyebrow and beckoned him to continue.

“Since I-”, another heavy breath. “Since the break up. They’re at every corner and always where I parked my car.”

The bartender watched him carefully. “Where do you sleep Iruka?”

He averted his eyes and ran a finger over his scar. “In-in the car. I don’t- I don’t have the money for a motel.”

“Mizuki stole his car”, Kakashi added and caught Iruka’s flinch in the corner of his eye. It made him frown. _Was it the wrong thing to say?_

After fumbling with his collar, Iruka cleared his throat and looked up to Anko again. “Kakashi and Tenzo already offered me to crash on their couch, and I appreciate that, I really do, but I- “

“Well then we make a pajama party out of that! Movie-night time”, Anko laughed manically, dead set on her idea already. “You. Me. Their cute dogs.”

Kakashi rolled his eyes. “Where are we in this scenario?”, he deadpanned. Next to him Tenzo chuckled.

“In your room, duh, this is a girl’s night and you’re obviously not invited.”

“I’m not invited to the pajama party you throw in my own apartment?”

“No, you and Tenzo both aren’t invited dude. Don’t do dirty things though, I want to actually hear my horror flick this time.”

_Both of them, together, naked, doing dirty, dirty things-_ Iruka immediately put a stop to this kind of thoughts. “Dogs?”, so he chimed in, an exited smile on his face.

Tenzo smelted at that. Minimally. _Definitely_ minimally. “Four and a puppy.”

It was decided then. Nobody refuses a dead-set Anko.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there, here I am, this time with a slightly shorter chapter. Thanks for all the kudos:D  
> Hope you enjoy!

They lived in a penthouse.

_Of course they had to live in a penthouse._

Iruka mustered the apartment with big eyes and open mouth. Honestly, he just wanted to wear his softest socks and slide over this smooth dark brown floor. Or maybe jump up and down while discovering every bit of this luxury. Run his hands over the really comfortable looking cushions or lay down on the carpet that was probably more worth than everything in his possession counted together.

And this view. The roof was only slightly tilted, so that not only the ceiling was _miles_ away from their heads, even on the second level, but also contained an unholy number of windows.

Being this exposed made Iruka a teeny tiny bit uncomfortable. But as soon as he felt the prickling sensation of being watched on his arms, guilt rose in him.

_(Nothing pleases you huh? You don’t have the right to complain about the penthouse. Not you, you poor pathetic peasant. They generously invited you and you actually dare to complain? You you you-)_

The brunette bit his lips. Not that they were actually exposed. The last balcony was about four levels down and they were the highest building in this block. Also, the large Senju-Forest started directly at the east side, granting an amazing overview on the national park.

The Senju-Forest, owned, maintained and secured by the Senju-clan, had four long hiking paths and one “short-cut” from one side to another allowed for visitors. Iruka itched for a comfortable walk, even in this time of year where everything was cold, snowy and dark.

Only the white walls dampened Iruka’s excitement a bit. Since most of their furniture was white too, the penthouse seemed too sterile and empty. Like it was directly bought from a designer magazine.

At least here in the entry, living room and kitchen, which were all one room technically, were no personal items as far as he could tell. It was a bit…sad.

He surely must have looked like a child on Christmas with his sprinting from one side of the penthouse to the other, full of excitement and awe. It didn’t bother him though, since even Anko shared her comments and squeaks loudly with them.

Kakashi and Tenzo smiled. That was a nice…change of things. Not that many people actually visited them here, but the few that do either appreciated their money a bit _too much_ or complained about the _unhomeyness pf their apartment_. Never had they somebody who wanted to drown himself in their carpet, as Iruka whispered to a chuckling Anko.

“How do you think he will react to the pups?”, Kakashi nudged Tenzo in the side as he watched Iruka and Anko shuffling around in their kitchen.

Tenzo took a moment to picture a wild grinning and loudly cooing Iruka petting their over-exited dogs. How he would be nearly suffocated by the pups once they decided all of them wanted to cuddle with Iruka at the same time.

The dopey smile on his face was rather telling. Smirking, Kakashi waggled with his eyebrows once he held his boyfriend’s attention again which caused Tenzo to shove him lightly.

With a gasp Kakashi laid a hand on his chest. “My own boyfriend, so blatantly being mean and rude to me. This bullying I have to endure in my own house!”

“I’m not the one who reads _garbage porn_ when his boyfriend suggests binge-watching something on Netflix.”

“You’re so mean! I will let you know that Icha Icha Paradise is not _garbage_. It’s a masterpiece!”

Tenzo deadpanned. “A child thinks his art is a masterpiece too.”

“Mean!”

Iruka was too involved in discovering this _amazing_ kitchen to listen to their banter. His company had made herself comfortable on the kitchen counter while watching her friend gush over _kitchen utensils_ of all things.

“You don’t understand. Can you imagine how the coffee tastes from this beautiful miracle of a coffee machine?”

Anko huffed. “It’s a coffee machine, nerd. Its sole purpose is making that shit.”

“But you just don’t understand”, Iruka exclaimed, wildly gesturing. “This machine can make a coffee so good you will never ever drink anything else, anything _below_ that. It’s _godsent._ ”

“It’s a freaking coffee maker.”

“Some people just don’t appreciate the right things in life”, he muttered under his breath and gazed at the coffee machine for a bit longer before continuing his “adventure”.

He whipped his head to the couple. “What do you even do to earn this crazy amount of money? Bodyguarding the president?”

Kakashi raised his eyebrow. “Then we would be actually being paid decently. Tenzo and I are police officers. I just…inherited well.”

Iruka’s wide eyes now turned more into a panicked expression. Freezing up, he muttered “Oh” and then, as abruptly as a bowstring, snapped his head around to avert his eyes. _Oh god, of course he had to get the attention of the police, oh fuck how could he fuck up so badly, Mizuki will be so mad, oh no no no, Mizuki said-_

A pause. _Mizuki? Mizuki isn’t here. No Mizuki._ No Mizuki. Iruka mentally shook his head, like it would shake off his trail of thoughts and frowned. _He can’t let Mizuki control him like this, especially if he wasn’t even there._

How could he have missed that? Iruka wanted to slap himself. Their outfit that resembled a police uniform. Their twitching to the side when Anko surprised them that looked like they wanted to draw a weapon. Their first question being who owns the car…

Noticing how the entire room got silent, he raised his head and smiled stiffly. “Ah, that’s-uh-that’s nice.”

Tenzo cleared his throat. “Okay, how about we get the dogs now? They surely will be very excited and wild, just push them down or nudge them away if they become too much.”

Iruka nodded and took a deep breath. _God, he had to stop making things always this awkward._

Quickly, Tenzo disappeared into the hallway and returned a moment later with excitedly barking dogs circling their owner. A second after they entered the living space these dogs ran to Kakashi and greeted him.

Laughing, Kakashi bend down to greet them back, giving each one a few pets and scratches.

…all this heartwarming domesticity did funny things to Iruka’s insides.

The giant black mastiff of this colorful bunch was the first to notice their guests. With a huff he turned around and trotted to Iruka and Anko only to straightly ignore Anko in favor of _violently_ cuddling Iruka.

“Hey, not fair! I want to be loved too!”, Anko complained as Iruka chuckled after nearly being knocked over by the dog.

Smiling the brunette turned to his friend while scratching behind the dog’s ears. “Well, aren’t you more of a cat-person anyways?”

She pouted. “Snakes! Snakes are my spiritual animals and nothing on this earth can fucking change that.”

Suddenly they weren’t alone anymore, rather surrounded by many wagging tails, sloppy tongues and loud barker.

“They quite like you”, Kakashi said amused as he and Tenzo joined the scene. “Good. Now, the mastiff here is Bull, that pug over there is Pakkun, the brown greyhound is Uhei and don’t worry, he only has a little scratch on top of his head he likes to open up, so we bandaged him. Then, next to him the small collie with the funny markings that look like sunglasses is Akino and our youngest is a cocker spaniel pup called Guruko.”

Anko and Iruka cooed over all the dogs and petted them with wide smiles on their faces. While Anko squealed over the puppy, Iruka kneeled down on the floor to cuddle with the rest of them.

Bull immediately settled on Iruka’s lap like he wasn’t aware of his sheer size and weight and successfully turned Iruka’s attention on him.

Kakashi and Tenzo mustered the great mastiff with raised eyebrows. “Bull normally isn’t that fond of cuddles”, Kakashi muttered, accidently loud enough for Iruka to hear.

The brunette widened his eyes. “Oh, uh, sorry”, he said and backed off a bit, but Bull nudged Iruka’s hand with his huge head and whined. He grinned and continued with his affections but turned his head to the pair.

Shrugging, Kakashi replied: “It’s nice, don’t worry. Means he likes you.”

Relieved Iruka relaxed a little more and petted Bull and Uhei, who tried to nudge into the non-existent space between Iruka and the mastiff.

It was so…peaceful. Domestic. _Homey_.

Anko’s stomach grumbled. Laughing, she paused her rough housing with Akino and Guruko and mustered Kakashi and Tenzo.

“Do you even have something besides dog food in your fancy ass kitchen? Both of you are fucking disasters at cooking.”

Kakashi pouted. “It isn’t _that_ bad”, he shrugged, then walked to the bulletin board next to their door and returned with various colorful flyers.

The bartender snorted and rolled her eyes. “Pff, sure, not like you made a stove explode last time.” Shrugging, she stepped over a dog and took the flyers, throwing Indian and Thai food on the couch.

“You caused a stove to what now?”, Iruka whipped his head around, mouth agape and eyes wide. “What on earth did you do to the stove?”

His horror may have been a bit undermined since he was only from the tip of his nose up visible over Bull’s massive body.

Anko threw herself next to Iruka, not even wincing when she landed with a loud bump. Leaning into his personal space, she held three flyers in front of his face.

“Forget the idiots for a moment and take a look at this shit. Italian, Greek or German?”

The brunette tensed. “I uh- “, he mustered the floor and stopped petting Bull. “I don’t have so much money on me. I’m fine!” Iruka forced a smile on his face that felt too stiff, to practiced. “I’m not that hungry anyways! Don’t worry about me.”

Kakashi, Tenzo and Anko frowned and shared a serious look. _Starvation too?_ The question laid heavily in the air, even if it remained unspoken.

“It’s my treat anyway. How about, as soon as you’re financial stable, you join our rounds?”, Kakashi responded, sitting down on the couch, not minding the flyers he nearly sat on.

Judging Iruka’s frown as a question, Tenzo chimed in. “Kakashi, I and sometimes Anko or our other friends alternate between being responsible for dinner. Since we’re both horrible cooks it’s always take-out. A round means normally three days a week.”

Now the brunette looked horrified. “Take-out six days a week that’s-that’s unhealthy! You can’t only live on junk food, oh my god how can you think that’s a good idea?”

Immediately he slapped a hand over his mouth and flinched back. “Oh god, I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to- I- you’re already more friendly to me than I deserve I shouldn’t complain or insult you I’m- “

Kakashi kneeled to the floor, facing Iruka’s side as Bull still sat on Iruka’s lap. Slowly he raised his hands, very slowly, and held them in a reassuring gesture. “Hey, Iruka, it’s okay. You’re definitely right, fast food for nearly the entire week is unhealthy and something we should change.”

The other two tried to come up with more reassuring words, something to calm Iruka down, but remained unsuccessful. Simultaneously anger rose in them, anger at Mizuki and everything Mizuki had done to cause _that._

Tenzo thought about asking Iruka if he knew how to cook, but at what consequences?

Iruka then may feel pressured into cooking for them, reliving Mizuki over and over again? Feeling guilty if the answer was no? Panicking if a mistake happened?

Because there was absolutely no doubt that Mizuki forced Iruka to do the chores.

The silence was pregnant and tense. Even the dogs stilled in their playing. Bull nudged Iruka again and whined at him, ripping Iruka out of his thoughts. He bit his lips and ran a finger over his scar.

_He had fucked up again, didn’t he? Like always always always-_

“Italian.” Tenzo, Anko and Kakashi perked up and watched how Iruka fiercely mustered the carpet while petting Bull. “I can’t stomach greasy food that well. Uh-no allergies, well, if there were any, I don’t know them. But, uh, I hate mushrooms with a passion. They’re just weird. Really weird.” He paused. “Uh, I don’t eat shrimps or other sea life beside fish since the accident where Genma was drunk and- oh god I am rambling again ugh I should uh- “

He dragged both hands over his face, wrinkled his nose at the smell of dog and peeked through them at Kakashi and Tenzo a second later.

Then he smiled a teeny tiny, barely visible smile that triggered a smile in return from Kakashi. Tenzo was sure his face warmed up a notch.

“I like Italian too! I mean Italian sounds good”, Kakashi blurted out and immediately wanted to bury himself in a hole. Mortified he felt how his own cheeks grew warm in a telling way. Since when blurted he sentences out? He was Kakashi Hatake, master of control! He _didn’t_ blurt out words when he does not intend to say them!

Tenzo and Anko looked at him funny. A moment passed before both erupted in loud laughter. Very loud laughter. Very loud laughter with no effort to hide their amusement of what (or rather whom).

Iruka couldn’t hold himself and joined them with a chuckle. _That was so cute. Handsome and cute. Oh wow._

Dinner came and went over with comfortable chatter, Anko's unsuccessful attempts at peeking under Kakashi's mask and horrible jokes where he surprisingly didn’t put a foot in his mouth. Iruka glanced at the digital clock of the oven. 10.27. _Already? It was barely seven when we left. Huh, how fast the time goes here._

He pointed at the empty boxes and dirty plates. “Do you separate your trash? Where is your dishwasher? I can do the dishes.”

Tenzo furrowed his brows and shook his head. “It’s okay Iruka, let me do it. Just leave it be and make yourself comfortable.”

_“Just **leave it be** , no, no need to move your lazy ass Iruka, **just make yourself comfortable-** “_

Iruka widened his eyes and jumped up, gesturing wildly while his breath hitched up. “No, no no no no, I can do it. I can! I need to clean up-I will! I swear! Please don’t- “. His eyes became wet and he shook his head roughly. Quickly (practiced) he grabbed all of their dishes with trembling hands and nearly _ran_ to the kitchen.

Tenzo whipped his head to Kakashi. “I didn’t mean to-I didn’t know- “. He bit his lip and glanced back to Iruka’s disappearing form. Kakashi stood up and stepped to Tenzo, laid his hands on his boyfriend’s cheeks and softly turned Tenzo’s head to him.

“Look at me Tenzo, you couldn’t know. It’s okay. That’s not your fault, or Iruka’s. Never, okay? That, all that was Mizuki as far as we know.” Kakashi dragged his mask down and kissed Tenzo on the forehead. “Really. We don’t know Iruka’s triggers. We possibly can’t, okay? That will take time.”

Anko fidgeted and held a cushion in a death grip. _What has this bastard done to Iruka? How could he? And why the hell doesn’t she know how to fix this?_

Guruko suddenly jumped on her lap and snapped after the laces of her sweater. Sighing she pinched the puppy in the sides and started a little playful fight with the pup.

Kakashi settled next to her and shoved at her sides. “You too, Anko. Don’t.”

The bartender growled at Kakashi. “You don’t say! But that shitface- agh I just wanna punch that little bastard and rip off his balls or something.”

“Stupid that a punch doesn’t solve the problem.”

“I KNOW! Goddamn it you asshole.”

Kakashi didn’t pull his mask up again. Normally he wouldn’t even wear it at home, but with their guests he kind of forgot to take it off. Shrugging, he threw it in a corner to bother later with.

Tenzo smirked at him weakly and poked his cheek in a mocking matter. Kakashi playfully growled and bit after his finger, causing both to chuckle and Anko to choke and mutter something about “disgusting flirting ew”.

Kakashi wasn’t self-conscious of his face. He _knew_ how he looked.

Iruka goddamn shrieked after seeing his face and grew as red as a tomato.

Feeling heat rising in his own face, Kakashi sputtered and turned to his boyfriend in an attempt to hide. Tenzo and Anko broke out into another laughing fit though, this time so violently both nearly fell off the couch.

The brunette hid himself behind his hands. He was so mortified. _Fuck, how can someone be so hot_ , he thought. But as Anko’s laughter grew even louder and Kakashi’s spluttering worsen, a sense of dread settled in his stomach.

_Oh god he said that aloud, didn’t he._

“To be fair, we find you attractive too”, Tenzo threw in between his fits and quite enjoyed the utter adorable squeak Iruka made.

After they all calmed down Anko announced herself as the “sleep-arrangements-manager”, thus throwing Kakashi and Tenzo out of the living room, stealing cushions and blankets from the guest room and preparing the couch for an _awesome pajama party_.

Iruka tasked himself with getting something to drink and moving the coffee table to the side, so that Anko could turn the couch into a sleeping-couch. _Seems like we will spend the night here._

Before Tenzo disappeared into his room, he turned to Iruka and gave him the bag he nearly forgot.

“Here. If you need anything else, feel free to ask us. We also have about everything spare in the bathroom, so you can make use of that. If the dogs are a problem, then just bring them to our room.”

They exchanged a warm good night, before Tenzo disappeared into the dark hallway without bothering to turn the lights on.

It somehow didn’t…sit well with Iruka. He learned to do exactly _that_ because of Mizuki. It shouldn’t concern him. It was _totally_ normal, right?

Sighing, he walked to the bathroom and prepared him for the night. His sleepshirt and boxer-shorts would do for now. He hesitantly used their toothpaste, since his own ran empty two days ago.

While shuffling though his bag, he saw his phone. Shaking his head he continued with getting ready for bed, but couldn’t stop his gaze wandering to it more times than he wanted to. It was always Mizuki’s way to control him even when he was miles on miles away…he shouldn’t look at it.

_He shouldn’t. He_ really, really _shouldn’t._

Fear was a powerful emotion that didn’t listen to what you should or shouldn’t do. It was a weapon that still hurt you and haunted you in your every step, even after the shot was fired.

Fear was… _controlling_.

He had several voicemails, missed calls and texts from Mizuki. How has he not noticed all of this?

It took him five minutes of staring down at his phone before he turned it off. The “heavy weight” still had to drop of his chest, of his shoulders, so he could breathe again. Books and movies made it seem so _easy._

…It wasn’t.

Iruka knew that if he didn’t power it down and actively turn it away, then he wouldn’t be able to ignore it any further. To stay resistant. Because his wasn’t the first time Iruka broke up with Mizuki.

Two times he tried to run away.

Two times he came back, begging and crying and full of fear what would happen. Two times he believed that nobody would ever love him, accept him, want him.

Two times he hoped that Mizuki would change, that everything would just return to what they had before. He hoped it would get better. Normal.

_Oh, he hoped so desperately._

Biting his lip a bit too hard Iruka snapped out of _whatever_ that was and threw his phone in his bag. He could deal with that tomorrow.

Now, Anko wanted to watch a movie. With him.

… _maybe he wasn’t as alone as Mizuki always wanted him to believe._


End file.
